BIG♥NYC is a big pink heart made of LEDs embedded in the base of a 10 foot (three meter) tall cube of 400 acrylic tubes. The LED lights are activated nightly and emit a red, heart shaped glow. When moved by the wind, the heart appears to pulsate. Sensors surrounding the sculpture capture and convert energy from passing footsteps into light. Another sensor in front of the heart more directly appeals to passersby to feed the light of the heart by touching the sensor.

A larger, more connected crowd will make the heart glow brighter and beat faster. Ingels explains, “The heart reflects what Times Square is made of, people and light. The more people, the stronger the light.”

Contributing Editor
Sun Joo Kim is an architect and creative consultant based in Boston. Her projects include design and master planning of museums, public institutions, hospitals, and university buildings across the U.S. She holds a degree from Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council.
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<p>Sun Joo is an independent architectural designer who contracts with design firms. She does not hold any investments in the companies she covers.</p><p>She writes for SmartPlanet and is not an employee of CBS.</p>